[fullwidth background_color=”” background_image=”” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding_top=”20″ padding_bottom=”20″ padding_left=”0″ padding_right=”0″ hundred_percent=”no” equal_height_columns=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” menu_anchor=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”1″ content_align=”left” style_type=”underline solid” sep_color=”#000000″ margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]Latest edition of federal dietary advice released[/title][fusion_text]Friday, December 8th 2016
The latest edition of federal dietary advice isn’t drawing unanimous support, but reaction from most quarters has been largely positive. The 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, released this morning, will govern federal food policy for the next five years, so today was a big day in the health and nutrition communities. While there had been talk about potential landmark changes from the previous document while the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) was meeting, that talk has been largely quashed. While past editions of the guidelines have gotten into specific recommendations on how much of a particular nutrient to consume, this version is focused more on broader dietary patterns. Marianne Smith, senior adviser for science and consumer insights for the International Food Information Council Foundation, said this is a good thing, allowing Americans to adapt the guidelines to their own individual diets. While the changes in the new guidelines are not substantial, perhaps the most notable is language concerning added sugars. The document recommends limiting added sugars to 10 percent of daily caloric intake, down from the 13 percent currently making up American diets. In a statement, the Sugar Association said the recommendation lacks scientific backing. As young as the new guidelines are, they are already facing their first bit of legal scrutiny. On Wednesday, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, advocates for a plant-based diet, announced a lawsuit against USDA and HHS alleging the two departments allowed food industry lobbying to impact the DGAC’s cholesterol recommendations. The group, which otherwise praised the guidelines in a Thursday release, said some DGAC members “came from institutions that were funded by the egg industry” and studies that were “egg-industry-funded” were used in deciding to no longer offer a recommendation on dietary cholesterol.
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